Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 37.07977609878782, -8.668595075092444

Ponta da Piedade is simply one of the most extraordinary settings in the Algarve. Rocks carved by the wind and tides over thousands of years form caves and tunnels in an incredibly beautiful place. In that corner of Lagos, the sea is incredibly transparent, which, together with the cliffs dotted with warts, make the landscape a true wonder of nature.

Located in Lagos, Ponta da Piedade is one of the most touristic places where you can find the best caves in the Algarve, with a reputation that rivals that of the Benagil cave.

The sunset

Ponta da Piedade at the end of the afternoon acquires a unique beauty, which led many to describe its sunset as the most beautiful in the world. At the end of the afternoon, when the sun's rays fall almost parallel to the ocean, the sea is covered in brilliant tones that flood us with absolute serenity. The grottoes and caverns take on golden tones and nature presents itself as a huge treasure.

To see the sunset, we recommend you to be on board a ship, as there is no feeling that can be compared to the freedom of seeing the end of the day at the whim of the swaying waves. The boat also offers you an unobstructed view of the ocean and the rocks of Ponta da Piedade.

Another place where you can see the sunset is in the bay of Ponta da Piedade (also known as Praia da Ponta da Piedade).

A third alternative is to watch the sunset from the top of one of the cliffs. The top of the cliffs offers the best view over the ocean, providing a tremendous spectacle as the sea swallows the sun. However, from the top of the cliff it is difficult to contemplate the effect of the last rays of sunlight on the rock formations of Ponta da Piedade.

Description

Ponta da Piedade is one of the main tourist attractions, both in the municipality of Lagos and at a regional level, possessing a valuable set of historical, natural, scenic and geological heritage.

On site, it is possible to visit the various existing caves, ensuring a pleasant and unique tourist experience.

Access by land: from the Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse and then on foot through stairs carved into the slopes. Access by sea: at the Lagos marina, excursions to Ponta da Piedade are offered by sailing boat or small fishing boats. The top of the cliff, at Ponta da Piedade cape, reaches around 40 m in height.

History Primitive formation and occupation

The rock formations were formed from marine erosion, the terrain being composed mainly of rocks formed about 20 to 7 million years ago, during the Miocene period, when the entire area was still covered by sea water, with the coastal strip several kilometers inland. The promontory presents a great paleontological potential, having discovered teeth of large sharks, traces of several extinct species of fish, and fossils of corals.

Since ancient times, Ponta da Piedade has had a cultural and religious function, having been considered a sacred place due to its connection to the ocean. In fact, human occupation on the promontory may be very old, with pieces from the Bronze Age having been collected on the ground, while in the underwater environment, traces from the Roman period have been discovered, such as ruins, a base of a column and coins.

16th to 20th centuries

In the 16th century, a hermitage dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Piedade was built, although signs of previous buildings have been found on the site. One of the main reminiscences of the religious importance of Ponta da Piedade is a ceremonial route from the city of Lagos, known as Via Sacra, where the landmarks of the stations of the cross still remain. The cape was also of great importance as a point of surveillance and defense of the coast, a military battery having been installed there in 1663, which was rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century and closed in 1821. Later, the hermitage was demolished for the installation of the lighthouse, whose works took place between 1912 and 1913.

XXI century

In 2012, the Municipality of Lagos launched a program for the conservation and requalification of the Ponta da Piedade area, with the installation of several defined paths for visitors, but the works did not advance due to financial problems, both at national level as local. The initiative was taken up by the municipality in the second half of the 2010s, having been organized in two phases, the first focusing on the section between Canavial and Ponta da Piedade, with about two kilometers, while the second would correspond to the coastline from that point to Praia do Pinhão or Praia de Dona Ana. The first phase involved the planting of pine trees, the organization of routes and the installation of visitor support equipment, such as stay areas, viewpoints and information panels. During the works, several problems were encountered, such as geological changes caused by water erosion, which led to several changes to the original plan and to the creation of a second contract, during which several walkways were installed over the land, and the routes were modified and expanded, with the corresponding signage. As part of this process, an innovative automatic visitor counting system was set up, capable of differentiating cyclists from pedestrians. The first phase was almost completed in August 2018, costing over 32,000 Euros. By this time, the second phase of the work had already been awarded, worth 74 thousand Euros, which in addition to improving access between the cape and Praia do Pinhão, would also include pedestrian and road routes to the city of Lagos, and pay homage to Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, who was linked to the city of Lagos and Ponta da Piedade. The writer usually spent her holidays in Lagos, where she had a house, and regularly visited the caves in Ponta da Piedade, which she made reference to in her work As Grutas - Obra Poética II - Livro Sexto. As a result of their dedication to the site, one of the caves was named the Grotto of Sophia. In 2017, the municipality also planned the installation of an interpretation center dedicated to Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen in Ponta da Piedade, which, in addition to informing the public about the writer, would also provide information about the biodiversity on the promontory.

However, the interventions resulting from the first phase were surrounded by controversy, with the opposition parties in Lagos demanding the «immediate stop of the works». At issue was the installation of the sidewalks between the lighthouse and Praia do Canavial, which were made at ground level, with gravel and concrete, while the remaining sections had been installed using walkways. Critics of the municipality's plan pointed out that the use of sidewalks instead of walkways would not create physical barriers that would prevent users from leaving the defined routes, so they would continue to have access to potentially dangerous places, in addition to circulation increasing the risk of soil erosion, in an area of ​​great sensitivity.

In December 2019, the municipality of Lagos approved a collaboration agreement with Rota Vicentina – Association for the Promotion of Nature Tourism on the Alentejo and Vicentina Coast, in order to integrate the paths between Burgau and Lagos, passing through Ponta da Piedade and through Praia da Luz, on the Fisherman's Trail route, a pedestrian route of about 226.5 km that runs along part of the Alentejo and Algarve coastline. In August 2020, the Administration of the Ports of Sines and the Algarve was planning a dredging operation in the Porto de Portimão channel, after which part of the sand collected would be applied to several beaches in the area, including Ponta da Piedade.

In 2015, a team of travel experts from the online newspaper The Huffington Post toured ten beaches in various tourist spots on the planet, with Ponta da Piedade chosen by contributor Suzy Strutner as her favorite, due to its natural beauty, with the rock formations. In 2020, travel guide publisher Lonely Planet highlighted Ponta da Piedade as one of the ten natural wonders in Portugal.

Versão portuguesa aqui.

GPS 37.07977609878782, -8.668595075092444

Ponta da Piedade is simply one of the most extraordinary settings in the Algarve. Rocks carved by the wind and tides over thousands of years form caves and tunnels in an incredibly beautiful place. In that corner of Lagos, the sea is incredibly transparent, which, together with the cliffs dotted with warts, make the landscape a true wonder of nature.

Located in Lagos, Ponta da Piedade is one of the most touristic places where you can find the best caves in the Algarve, with a reputation that rivals that of the Benagil cave.

The sunset

Ponta da Piedade at the end of the afternoon acquires a unique beauty, which led many to describe its sunset as the most beautiful in the world. At the end of the afternoon, when the sun's rays fall almost parallel to the ocean, the sea is covered in brilliant tones that flood us with absolute serenity. The grottoes and caverns take on golden tones and nature presents itself as a huge treasure.

To see the sunset, we recommend you to be on board a ship, as there is no feeling that can be compared to the freedom of seeing the end of the day at the whim of the swaying waves. The boat also offers you an unobstructed view of the ocean and the rocks of Ponta da Piedade.

Another place where you can see the sunset is in the bay of Ponta da Piedade (also known as Praia da Ponta da Piedade).

A third alternative is to watch the sunset from the top of one of the cliffs. The top of the cliffs offers the best view over the ocean, providing a tremendous spectacle as the sea swallows the sun. However, from the top of the cliff it is difficult to contemplate the effect of the last rays of sunlight on the rock formations of Ponta da Piedade.

Description

Ponta da Piedade is one of the main tourist attractions, both in the municipality of Lagos and at a regional level, possessing a valuable set of historical, natural, scenic and geological heritage.

On site, it is possible to visit the various existing caves, ensuring a pleasant and unique tourist experience.

Access by land: from the Ponta da Piedade Lighthouse and then on foot through stairs carved into the slopes. Access by sea: at the Lagos marina, excursions to Ponta da Piedade are offered by sailing boat or small fishing boats. The top of the cliff, at Ponta da Piedade cape, reaches around 40 m in height.

History Primitive formation and occupation

The rock formations were formed from marine erosion, the terrain being composed mainly of rocks formed about 20 to 7 million years ago, during the Miocene period, when the entire area was still covered by sea water, with the coastal strip several kilometers inland. The promontory presents a great paleontological potential, having discovered teeth of large sharks, traces of several extinct species of fish, and fossils of corals.

Since ancient times, Ponta da Piedade has had a cultural and religious function, having been considered a sacred place due to its connection to the ocean. In fact, human occupation on the promontory may be very old, with pieces from the Bronze Age having been collected on the ground, while in the underwater environment, traces from the Roman period have been discovered, such as ruins, a base of a column and coins.

16th to 20th centuries

In the 16th century, a hermitage dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Piedade was built, although signs of previous buildings have been found on the site. One of the main reminiscences of the religious importance of Ponta da Piedade is a ceremonial route from the city of Lagos, known as Via Sacra, where the landmarks of the stations of the cross still remain. The cape was also of great importance as a point of surveillance and defense of the coast, a military battery having been installed there in 1663, which was rebuilt in the second half of the 18th century and closed in 1821. Later, the hermitage was demolished for the installation of the lighthouse, whose works took place between 1912 and 1913.

XXI century

In 2012, the Municipality of Lagos launched a program for the conservation and requalification of the Ponta da Piedade area, with the installation of several defined paths for visitors, but the works did not advance due to financial problems, both at national level as local. The initiative was taken up by the municipality in the second half of the 2010s, having been organized in two phases, the first focusing on the section between Canavial and Ponta da Piedade, with about two kilometers, while the second would correspond to the coastline from that point to Praia do Pinhão or Praia de Dona Ana. The first phase involved the planting of pine trees, the organization of routes and the installation of visitor support equipment, such as stay areas, viewpoints and information panels. During the works, several problems were encountered, such as geological changes caused by water erosion, which led to several changes to the original plan and to the creation of a second contract, during which several walkways were installed over the land, and the routes were modified and expanded, with the corresponding signage. As part of this process, an innovative automatic visitor counting system was set up, capable of differentiating cyclists from pedestrians. The first phase was almost completed in August 2018, costing over 32,000 Euros. By this time, the second phase of the work had already been awarded, worth 74 thousand Euros, which in addition to improving access between the cape and Praia do Pinhão, would also include pedestrian and road routes to the city of Lagos, and pay homage to Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, who was linked to the city of Lagos and Ponta da Piedade. The writer usually spent her holidays in Lagos, where she had a house, and regularly visited the caves in Ponta da Piedade, which she made reference to in her work As Grutas - Obra Poética II - Livro Sexto. As a result of their dedication to the site, one of the caves was named the Grotto of Sophia. In 2017, the municipality also planned the installation of an interpretation center dedicated to Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen in Ponta da Piedade, which, in addition to informing the public about the writer, would also provide information about the biodiversity on the promontory.

However, the interventions resulting from the first phase were surrounded by controversy, with the opposition parties in Lagos demanding the «immediate stop of the works». At issue was the installation of the sidewalks between the lighthouse and Praia do Canavial, which were made at ground level, with gravel and concrete, while the remaining sections had been installed using walkways. Critics of the municipality's plan pointed out that the use of sidewalks instead of walkways would not create physical barriers that would prevent users from leaving the defined routes, so they would continue to have access to potentially dangerous places, in addition to circulation increasing the risk of soil erosion, in an area of ​​great sensitivity.

In December 2019, the municipality of Lagos approved a collaboration agreement with Rota Vicentina – Association for the Promotion of Nature Tourism on the Alentejo and Vicentina Coast, in order to integrate the paths between Burgau and Lagos, passing through Ponta da Piedade and through Praia da Luz, on the Fisherman's Trail route, a pedestrian route of about 226.5 km that runs along part of the Alentejo and Algarve coastline. In August 2020, the Administration of the Ports of Sines and the Algarve was planning a dredging operation in the Porto de Portimão channel, after which part of the sand collected would be applied to several beaches in the area, including Ponta da Piedade.

In 2015, a team of travel experts from the online newspaper The Huffington Post toured ten beaches in various tourist spots on the planet, with Ponta da Piedade chosen by contributor Suzy Strutner as her favorite, due to its natural beauty, with the rock formations. In 2020, travel guide publisher Lonely Planet highlighted Ponta da Piedade as one of the ten natural wonders in Portugal.